We live at an interesting nexus today, where so much of our economy is focused on building processes and systems that enable us to exist in the virtual world while at the same time we continue to build and develop the physical world in which we also exist. Maybe one day, one of those worlds will overtake the other. For now though, we seem to have one foot in each world and pass between them multiple times every day. Navigating our journeys through both of these worlds creates unlimited opportunities for creative entrepreneurs.

Dustin Puryear os founder and CEO of Giant Rocketship, a Baton Rouge based tech company that has developed an AI-powered project manager that efficiently assigns and monitors tasks for IT companies, and can reassign them if a team member faces challenges or is unavailable.

Dustin founded Giant Rocketship as an outgrowth of Puryear IT, which provides a range of IT services for small and medium-sized business. Dustin still owns both companies, but spends most of his time these days focused on Giant Rocketship.

Dustin has also has a developed a niche as a speaker in IT circles, where he shares insights on technology, cybersecurity and AI. 

Firmly in the real world, Baton Rouge native Nick Miller is founder and CEO of Build Commercial Construction, a full service commercial construction company that works in the multifamily, retail, healthcare and industrial spaces, and also does storm and wetlands remediation - a growing segment in climate-challenged south Louisiana.

Nick graduated from LSU’s Bert S. Turner School of Construction Management and got his start with Manhattan Construction, where he was a project manager overseeing construction of L’Auberge Casino. He later spent several years with a large general contractor until taking the brave step of branching out on his own to form Build Commercial Construction, which specializes in the design assist delivery method of construction which increases the collaborative efforts between owners, designers and the general contractor. Recently the firm expanded its footprint to two nearby states. 

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Brian Pavlich at itsbatonrouge.la.

We live at an interesting nexus today, where so much of our economy is focused on building processes and systems that enable us to exist in the virtual world while at the same time we continue to build and develop the physical world in which we also exist. Maybe one day, one of those worlds will overtake the other. For now though, we seem to have one foot in each world and pass between them multiple times every day. Navigating our journeys through both of these worlds creates unlimited opportunities for creative entrepreneurs.
Dustin Puryear os founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.giantrocketship.com/">Giant Rocketship</a>, a Baton Rouge based tech company that has developed an AI-powered project manager that efficiently assigns and monitors tasks for IT companies, and can reassign them if a team member faces challenges or is unavailable.
Dustin founded Giant Rocketship as an outgrowth of <a href="https://www.puryear-it.com/">Puryear IT</a>, which provides a range of IT services for small and medium-sized business. Dustin still owns both companies, but spends most of his time these days focused on Giant Rocketship.
Dustin has also has a developed a niche as a speaker in IT circles, where he shares insights on technology, cybersecurity and AI. 
Firmly in the real world, Baton Rouge native Nick Miller is founder and CEO of <a href="https://buildcc.net/">Build Commercial Construction</a>, a full service commercial construction company that works in the multifamily, retail, healthcare and industrial spaces, and also does storm and wetlands remediation - a growing segment in climate-challenged south Louisiana.
Nick graduated from <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/eng/cm/index.php">LSU’s Bert S. Turner School of Construction Management</a> and got his start with <a href="https://manhattanconstructiongroup.com/">Manhattan Construction</a>, where he was a project manager overseeing construction of L’Auberge Casino. He later spent several years with a large general contractor until taking the brave step of branching out on his own to form Build Commercial Construction, which specializes in the design assist delivery method of construction which increases the collaborative efforts between owners, designers and the general contractor. Recently the firm expanded its footprint to two nearby states. 
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="https://pavlichphotography.com/">Brian Pavlich</a> at<a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2023/10/24/one-foot-in-each-world/"> itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

OUT TO LUNCH finds Baton Rouge Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

OUT TO LUNCH finds The Advocate business reporter Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's on the Boulevard. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

OUT TO LUNCH finds The Advocate business reporter Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's on the Boulevard. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

One Foot In Each World

"All the world's a stage," as Shakespeare famously wrote, and we are "merely players" performing roles, today as professionals or politicians or teachers in a classroom of students. or parents modeling behavior for their children. 

In an era when traditional media, social media, and ever-present modes of telecommunications determine how these roles and personas are received and perceived, crafting images, honing messages, and telling stories around them has given rise to entire industries.

Stuart Feigley is president of Feigley Communications, a Baton Rouge strategic marketing agency that specializes in creating ad campaigns across a wide spectrum of industries, including healthcare, education and government. Stewart co-founded the firm in 2006, and in the years since, Feigley Communications has handled such high profile local cleints as LSU, the La Dept of Health, and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber among others.

Stuart is a native of Baton Rouge with 36 years experience in the field. After graduating from the LSU Manship School of Communications he went off to big national firms in Dallas and Ohio, where he worked for large corporate clients. He came home in 2006 to found Wright Feigley Communciations with the late Jeff Wright, rebranding the firm as Feigley Communications in 2016. 

While Stuart is helping clients on the figurative stage, Sarah Klocke is working with people on the real stage – as in theater. Sarah is Executive Director of Theatre Baton Rouge, which has been delighting audiences in Baton rouge since 1946 with dramas, comedies and beloved Broadway musicals.

You may remember we interviewed Sarah’s predecessor Jenny Ballard on this show a while back. Sarah took her place in October 2023, as the organization was struggling to recover from the pandemic and the financial challenges it wrought on performing arts organizations across the country.

Sarah came to Baton Rouge most recently from St Mary’s College in Omaha Nebraska, where she was the program director of theater and communications.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

"All the world's a stage," as Shakespeare famously wrote, and we are "merely players" performing roles, today as professionals or politicians or teachers in a classroom of students. or parents modeling behavior for their children. 
In an era when traditional media, social media, and ever-present modes of telecommunications determine how these roles and personas are received and perceived, crafting images, honing messages, and telling stories around them has given rise to entire industries.
Stuart Feigley is president of <a href="https://feigleycommunications.com/">Feigley Communications</a>, a Baton Rouge strategic marketing agency that specializes in creating ad campaigns across a wide spectrum of industries, including healthcare, education and government. Stewart co-founded the firm in 2006, and in the years since, Feigley Communications has handled such high profile local cleints as LSU, the La Dept of Health, and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber among others.
Stuart is a native of Baton Rouge with 36 years experience in the field. After graduating from the <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/manship/index.php">LSU Manship School of Communications</a> he went off to big national firms in Dallas and Ohio, where he worked for large corporate clients. He came home in 2006 to found Wright Feigley Communciations with the late Jeff Wright, rebranding the firm as Feigley Communications in 2016. 
While Stuart is helping clients on the figurative stage, Sarah Klocke is working with people on the real stage – as in theater. Sarah is Executive Director of <a href="https://theatrebr.org/">Theatre Baton Rouge</a>, which has been delighting audiences in Baton rouge since 1946 with dramas, comedies and beloved Broadway musicals.
You may remember <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2021/12/22/mermaid-theater/">we interviewed Sarah’s predecessor Jenny Ballard</a> on this show a while back. Sarah took her place in October 2023, as the organization was struggling to recover from the pandemic and the financial challenges it wrought on performing arts organizations across the country.
Sarah came to Baton Rouge most recently from St Mary’s College in Omaha Nebraska, where she was the program director of theater and communications.
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a> at <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2024/11/18/merely-players/">itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

Merely Players

Making a business plan is an essential part of launching a new business. But it’s not a skill an aspiring business owner necessarily has. Which is where Camille Terk comes in. Writing business plans is literally what she does for a living. Her firm, Terk Consulting, is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in business planning.

Camille founded her firm in 2005 and in the nearly two decades since has served over 700 clients, helping them draft business plans and pitch-decks to present to investors and lenders. All told, she estimates she has helped her clients raise more than $350 million.

Camille has an MBA, is based in New Orleans, and is one of the few firms specifically focused on doing business plans for small business. She counts among her clients some of our previous guests on this show, including: Falaya, Marex Services, Resource Environmental Solutions and Speedy Eats. 

If somebody went to Camille and told her they wanted to open a vegan restaurant in Zachary Louisiana, I don’t know what Camille would say but she might suggest that that doesn’t immediately look like a recipe for success, right? Maybe a poboy shop or a Bar B Q restaurant, but vegan. In Zachary?

Well, Neshia Rowe opened Golden Vegan restaurant in Zachary in 2022, after launching the concept from her home in 2021. Was it a success? Sure was! And still is. In fact it’s turned out to be such a success that Neshia has since opened two more Golden Vegan restaurants – one at LSU and the other at Southern University.

Neshia will be the first to admit that Zachary was an unlikely locale for her first restaurant. She says she founded it there because the area didn't have a lot of healthy food options and the concept behind her menu is to educate her customers about healthy eating, to help them gradually transition from a diet of fast food and fatty food to plant-based options that don’t deprive and taste great.

And, talking of great tasting food, Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

Making a business plan is an essential part of launching a new business. But it’s not a skill an aspiring business owner necessarily has. Which is where Camille Terk comes in. Writing business plans is literally what she does for a living. Her firm, <a href="https://terkconsulting.com/">Terk Consulting</a>, is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in business planning.
Camille founded her firm in 2005 and in the nearly two decades since has served over 700 clients, helping them draft business plans and pitch-decks to present to investors and lenders. All told, she estimates she has helped her clients raise more than $350 million.
Camille has an MBA, is based in New Orleans, and is one of the few firms specifically focused on doing business plans for small business. She counts among her clients some of our previous guests on this show, including: <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2021/02/24/no-debt-no-broker/">Falaya</a>, Marex Services, Resource Environmental Solutions and <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2022/02/23/super-cheesy/">Speedy Eats</a>. 
If somebody went to Camille and told her they wanted to open a vegan restaurant in Zachary Louisiana, I don’t know what Camille would say but she might suggest that that doesn’t immediately look like a recipe for success, right? Maybe a poboy shop or a Bar B Q restaurant, but vegan. In Zachary?
Well, Neshia Rowe opened<a href="https://www.goldenveganbr.com/"> Golden Vegan restaurant</a> in Zachary in 2022, after launching the concept from her home in 2021. Was it a success? Sure was! And still is. In fact it’s turned out to be such a success that Neshia has since opened two more Golden Vegan restaurants – one at LSU and the other at Southern University.
Neshia will be the first to admit that Zachary was an unlikely locale for her first restaurant. She says she founded it there because the area didn't have a lot of healthy food options and the concept behind her menu is to educate her customers about healthy eating, to help them gradually transition from a diet of fast food and fatty food to plant-based options that don’t deprive and taste great.
And, talking of great tasting food, Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a> at<a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2024/11/11/golden-business-plan/"> itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

Golden Business Plan

Around two million people in the United states will be diagnosed this year with cancer.

Taken together, each one of these individual life-changing diagnoses forms a part of an overall cancer care industrial complex which adds to up to an annual $75 billion sector of the national economy. And, like every other business heading into the second quarter of the 21st Century, cancer treatment is changing and advancing with the implementation of technology that includes AI. 

In Baton Rouge, very few people are more familiar with the current state of cancer care than Sotirios Stathakis, Chief of Physics at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, and a radiation oncology physicist with more than two decades of experience in this highly technical field.

Sotirios came to Mary Bird in 2023, and in his role there oversees the cancer center’s physics and dosimetry teams. He also is involved in implementing new AI technology at Mary Bird to help improve internal processes, with the goal of improving both outcomes and the patient experience.

Sotirios is a native of Greece who was educated in Canada and Scotland before returning to Greece to obtain his PhD in medical physics. Prior to his current perch in Baton Rouge, he served in a similar role at the University of Texas Health San Antonio Mays Cancer Center, an NCI-designated cancer center .  

While cancer care is one of the fastest growing segments of our healthcare economy, another rapidly expanding field is pet care, which is growing by 7% a year. In cold hard cash, over the past 12 months Americans spent even more on pet care than cancer care: a whopping $80 Billion.

According to numerous studies, we love our pets to the point where we'll sacrifice all sorts of other discretionary expenses to lavish our furry friends with whatever they need to be their best selves.

Locally, Lauren Swartley is a hands-on expert on the subject of pet care. Lauren is the founder and owner of Lend A Paw, a premium dog walking and pet sitting company that is bonded and Insured through Pet Sitter Associates, and Pet CPR & First Aid Certified through the American Red Cross. 

Lend A Paw is also the first and only Fear Free certified pet sitting company in Louisiana.

Lend a Paw provides in-home one-on-one care for pets, with specially curated visits and software, so you're able to view your pets in real time.  Lauren founded the business in 2018, after she adopted a heartworm positive Staffordshire terrier named Hayes and fell in love with him and the cause.

Despite advances in medical science and the onward drumbeat of AI, for reasons we probably don't totally understand, lavishing love on our pets reportedly improves our opwn health. In this win-win world Sitorios and Lauren have more in common than you might think at first glance.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Mansurs On the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez. at itsbatonrouge.la.

Around two million people in the United states will be diagnosed this year with cancer.
Taken together, each one of these individual life-changing diagnoses forms a part of an overall cancer care industrial complex which adds to up to an annual $75 billion sector of the national economy. And, like every other business heading into the second quarter of the 21st Century, cancer treatment is changing and advancing with the implementation of technology that includes AI. 
In Baton Rouge, very few people are more familiar with the current state of cancer care than<a href="https://marybird.org/services/physics/stathakis/"> Sotirios Stathakis, Chief of Physics at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center</a>, and a radiation oncology physicist with more than two decades of experience in this highly technical field.
Sotirios came to Mary Bird in 2023, and in his role there oversees the cancer center’s physics and dosimetry teams. He also is involved in implementing new AI technology at Mary Bird to help improve internal processes, with the goal of improving both outcomes and the patient experience.
Sotirios is a native of Greece who was educated in Canada and Scotland before returning to Greece to obtain his PhD in medical physics. Prior to his current perch in Baton Rouge, he served in a similar role at the University of Texas Health San Antonio Mays Cancer Center, an NCI-designated cancer center .  
While cancer care is one of the fastest growing segments of our healthcare economy, another rapidly expanding field is pet care, which is growing by 7% a year. In cold hard cash, over the past 12 months Americans spent even more on pet care than cancer care: a whopping $80 Billion.
According to numerous studies, we love our pets to the point where we'll sacrifice all sorts of other discretionary expenses to lavish our furry friends with whatever they need to be their best selves.
Locally, Lauren Swartley is a hands-on expert on the subject of pet care. Lauren is the founder and owner of <a href="https://www.lendapawbr.com/">Lend A Paw</a>, a premium dog walking and pet sitting company that is bonded and Insured through <a href="https://www.petsitllc.com/">Pet Sitter Associates</a>, and <a href="https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/first-aid/cat-dog-first-aid">Pet CPR &amp; First Aid Certified through the American Red Cross</a>. 
Lend A Paw is also the first and only<a href="https://fearfreepets.com/"> Fear Free</a> certified pet sitting company in Louisiana.
Lend a Paw provides in-home one-on-one care for pets, with specially curated visits and software, so you're able to view your pets in real time.  Lauren founded the business in 2018, after she adopted a heartworm positive Staffordshire terrier named Hayes and fell in love with him and the cause.
Despite advances in medical science and the onward drumbeat of AI, for reasons we probably don't totally understand, lavishing love on our pets reportedly improves our opwn health. In this win-win world Sitorios and Lauren have more in common than you might think at first glance.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/">Mansurs On the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a>. at<a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2024/10/21/radiation-vibe/"> itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

One Foot In Each World

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